Jill Santoriello's A Tale of Two Cities, the Dickens-inspired musical that had a test run in Sarasota, FL, last fall, will begin Broadway previews Aug. 19 toward a Sept. 18 opening at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.

Natalie Toro in A Tale of Two Cities.
Photo by Carol Rosegg

No director has been announced, but it's not hard to guess that Warren Carlyle, who is fresh out of choreographing the Old Globe Theatre's world premiere musical, Dancing in the Dark — and who choreographed the hit tryout of Tale at Asolo Repertory Theatre in Florida in fall 2007 — is on the wish list to helm the teeming epic.

Executive producers Barbra Russell and Ron Sharpe announced the Broadway plan March 25.

Many of the Florida cast members are expected to be invited back, although no casting has been announced. Carlyle choreographed in Florida, where Michael Donald Edwards directed. Edwards is artistic director of Asolo Repertory Theatre, where A Tale of Two Cities was a sold-out smashzilla for his troupe last fall.

The "sweeping musical epic" marches into the house that will be vacated in June by Curtains.

A Tale of Two Cities is "set against the epic backdrop of the French Revolution and based on the classic Dickens novel." It's a musical "about injustice, vengeance and the redemptive power of love." Broadway newcomer Santoriello penned the show's book, music and lyrics, drawing from the famed 1859 novel that jumps between London and Paris. The piece — with a score that recalls humanity-rich, soaring musical epics such as Les Miserables and Jane Eyre — has been in development for several years.

According to production notes, "When Dr. Manette is released from the French Bastille after 17 years, he must be resurrected from the brink of madness by his daughter, Lucie. In England they meet two very different men: the exiled French aristocrat, Charles Darnay, whom Lucie marries, and the drunken cynic, Sydney Carton. Soon family secrets and political intrigue combine to draw Lucie and her family back to Paris. At the height of the Reign of Terror, the musical finds an unlikely hero in Carton."

The musical is being designed by Tony Walton (scenery), David Zinn (costumes), Richard Pilbrow (lights), Carl Casella and Domonic Sack (sound).

Orchestrations are by Edward B. Kessel and Bob Krogstad; arrangements are by Edward B. Kessel and Wendy Bobbitt Cavett.